Happy Birthday Little Lady!

Today is the anniversary of me being a momma, the day it stopped being about me and started being about her. Today she is two. And while it pulls my heartstrings to write a two and hear her say "I two" it also makes me happy, proud, and a bunch of other words that can't quite describe how being her mommy feels. She is the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I feel blessed in so many ways to be hers. And now, at the ripe old age of two she sits on the brink of a huge milestone in her life - becoming a big sister. Another time, when I as the mommy will get to have all these feelings two times over (how lucky am I.) I'm so proud of everything she has accomplished at her ripe age - counting to ten, counting to three in Chinese, potty training, the ability to hold an actual conversation with full sentences. The list could go on and on. She loves dinosaurs and the color purple, horseys and flip-flops. She is a girly girl sundae with a nature loving cherry on top and I wouldn't want it any other way. I love you more than words my Little Lady and I wish you the best future anyone could ever ask for!

Heartwrenching

My thoughts and prayers are with those in Joplin, MO. Going to college so close to that town meant that I had many girls in my sorority and cheerleading squad from there, it's where we went shopping, and on dates, and when we just needed out of the 'burg. It's hard to see the pictures. It's hard to know your friends are going through such tough times and that there is little I can do from where I am. Thankfully, everyone I know is accounted for, some of their family homes did not fare so well, but they are alive. If you can, please donate to the Red Cross. They will need our help now and for quite some time as they recover and rebuild. But above all, please keep them all in your prayers.

Potty Training 101

We are in the throws of potty training. And, she is doing FANTASTIC. We started on May 2, about one month before her 2nd birthday. She had been sporadically sitting on the toilet for quite some time but we never had made a schedule of it or pushed the potty training. With another baby on the way I knew that I would love to not be a two diaper kid household. So, we set out on our potty journey. I made a potty chart, set up the "rules", had marshmallows for good potties, and Toy Story stickers to mark the good days. I also set up goals - for the first accomplishment it was a Dora dinner set, 2nd was a pack of panties, 3rd a pack of panties, and the 4th is a trip to the zoo. Her first week she did well and the 2nd week was about the same. She had been keeping herself dry all night for about a week. Then last Saturday she just got it. She woke up that morning with her dry pull up and hasn't gone in one since. She has had a few close calls where she starts to go in her panties, realizes it, then tells us to hurry to the potty. Amazingly awesome, if I do say so myself. She is now the proud owner of Yo Gabba, Kai-Lan, and Princess panties. We still put her in a pull up if she is taking a nap or going down for the night or if we are leaving the house to be on the safe side. I'm very proud with the progress she has made and I know that there will be accidents, that's no biggie. She has it down for the most part and that is what we are most proud of. A few suggestions that I have for those trying to get their kiddos out of diapers and into the world of panties - Have goals but be flexible. It took her almost two weeks to get her first prize and she has plowed through the rest (mostly because a three pack of panties gets used up quick). Just keep asking if your child has to go, I ask if she has to go potty countless times just to remind her to let me know if she does. Usually, she just tells me if she has to go but for right now, I keep asking. Have a chart, she gets really excited when she gets to put a sticker on her chart. It shows her progress and lets her know how awesome she is doing. Finally, go to the library and find some potty books. We found the book Danny is Done With Diapers at our local library. She loves it so much I just renewed it today. I like it not only because it encourages good potty habits but it also teaches the abc's. We typically read it 2x a day. I think that's it. I'm so proud of my girl.

It's About Safety People

As a big rear-facing advocate, I'm so happy to see the new car seat recommendations that came out today. Hopefully parents can put the safety of rear facing above the convenience of forward facing so that children can ride safer. Linked is the article and new guidelines from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - check it - and keep your kids safe:
http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS

Spring Fever

Yep, I'm going there again. We are so so ready for spring. And today kind of feels like it...in the rainy thunderstorm super grey kind of way. But it gets me thinking that its close. Thunderstorms are one of the first big signs that spring is on the way. You know, that whole in like a lion thing:) So, with our very grey weather today that seems to be keeping me on the computer and on my couch instead of behind the vacuum, I find myself searching online for a perfect Easter dress for Little Lady. I have found quite a few cute ones but the thing I am most excited to have found is a big wide brim white Easter hat. I had one when I was a little girl and I loved it...anytime I dressed up in the spring I would want to wear that thing and I remember thinking that I looked "so sophisticated" in it. My favorite outfit to go with it I remember to be a kind of teal skirt with a white button up shirt with a peter pan collar that had rabbits on it. I mean how much more of an Easter feeling do you need. I remember loving my white patent leather "heels" that would come about every spring and the brown scuffs they would get on them from the brown sole hitting the other shoe:) Awww, memories. I want my kids to have the same fondness of memories too. Loving to wake up Easter morning to see what good amounts of fun are going to be in that basket...searching for eggs with candy in them...and knowing that they are decked out in the finest Easter garb this spring lovin' mama could find them!

The Fish Debacle

We have recently gotten Little Lady a small fish tank for her room. It sits on her nightstand and makes a fantastic nightlight. Well, needless to say, like any almost two year old sometimes she gets a little wild when playing in her room. The other night was no exception. I was playing in her room with her and it became one of those moments where you see it happening in s-l-o-w motion but there is nothing you can do it about it. She was running backwards hit her nightstand and the fish tank went flying. I went flying after it, thinking in my head, that there was someway in this world that I was going to be able to catch it. Yeah right! Water went everywhere, rocks went everywhere, and her three little fish went flopping. Little Lady immediately started crying and I told her just to sit on her bed with her animals for fear that she would stomp a fish- further traumatizing her....I yelled for the Big A and I went to the task of trying to catch the 3 said flopping fish. I caught the green one, no sweat. Then I saw the orange one and I was going after him and low and behold he flopped himself under the door frame and got stuck. Big A went and got tweezers and a flashlight and I was slopping water under the door frame to try to keep the fish alive. While he is working the extraction process, I go to work looking for the pink fish. I turned that room upside down. I picked up area rugs, moved the toy box, I was looking everywhere to no avail. About that same time Big A had success getting the fish from under the door frame and which fish does he pull out but the PINK one. So, yes, both pink and orange made their way under the door frame. We get pink in with green in the little bitty bit of water still in the fish tank and we go to work on the extraction of orange. At this point, I'm thinking that it has been over five minutes so there is no way pink is going to live let orange who is still stuck. Finally, after about another five minutes Big A gets orange out and puts him in the little bit of water too. He is damaged, bleeding a little under the skin from the tweezers. We are thinking for sure that we are down at least one fish if not two. We get the rocks, the water, all the little decorations back in the fish tank, put a little food in, and tell each other we will see how they are doing in the morning, since by this point it was bed time. We couldn't believe it when we woke up in the morning and had three very alive fish. They are still healthy and swimming a few days later. So, my suggestion is this, if you are going to get your kids some fish and you want them to be hardy and live awhile - purchase GLOFISH. I am completely convinced they are the hardiest of fish and they are not even 1 inch long:)

A Note on Co-Sleeping

I wish I had a picture of my bed last night. It was quite hilarious so try to picture it in your head. We have a king size bed and this is how the line-up went...Mommy,Baby Ariel, Mommy's pregnancy pillow, Little Lady on top of Mommy's pregnancy pillow, Penguin, Monkey, Daddy. Monkey ended up cuddling with Daddy, Penguin cuddled with Little Lady, and Baby Ariel got to hang out up with the headboard because she isn't very comfy to sleep with;)